Contacts: 272

Well this week was awkward in the Gomera. We were supposed to have 2 baptisms but there was no water or electricity in ALL of the Gomera so as you know, without water we can't have baptisms. This week they will be baptized though so no worries. We are also working really hard to find the other 5 people we have promised to take to the waters of baptism :) 

We have had a couple of really good lessons with A. She is an old investigator who attended once and really liked it but she didn't want to keep listening because it was upsetting her daughter. President Telon (the branch president in Sipacate) has been visiting her with us since he lives here and works with her. He is really great. He invited her to be baptized so that was good! We had a family night with him and his family and A. She almost didn't want to go since it was raining...really hard. 

One of the investigators we were intending to baptize this month decided that she was not going to stop working which is bad...since she works on Sundays. We are going to pray and fast for her lots. 

Also Satan just likes messing with my head...We were so excited because EVERYONE (well almost) that we visited said they would come to church on Sunday so we were planning on like 15 investigators in church. Well basically no one went and we passed for ALL OF THEM. We only had 3 this week.

Also we have giant problems with a lot of our converts but we are visiting them and so is the branch so we are seriously hoping that we can get them back to church. Sunday I got super frustrated though because we saw 2 of the converts of the other hermanas and we were like let’s go to church and then they said ok we just have to do something really quick and then we will go. And I said oh it’s ok we'll go with you. And so they decided it would be better to just come with us to church. AND THEN outside of the building they tried doing the same thing but then we got them inside the building. But they "had to go to the bathroom" and escaped. THEY WERE ALREADY AT CHURCH! gosh it made me so mad...like why did they even get baptized if they weren't going to go to church once after they got confirmed. I guess it's the same with D though. We've tried everything and he always says he will go and then never does. But I am determined to make this the perfect month and have perfect retention as well.

My companion got a little upset when I explained to her that we would be waking up every day at 5 30 though. She understands that we have giant goals to achieve so it will be worth it. We are doing everything to be exactly obedient.  At least for this month...in bed at 10 30 completely ready before studies, 30 minutes exactly or more of exercise...we are doing all we can so that we can have some great miracles :)   I'm not making her get up that early!!! ...my desire to be awesome is making US get up that early...I hate waking up and you know that so it's both of us who are suffering.

ALSO.....Esperanza has her eye surgery today!! Gosh mom and dad...can you send me some money so I can build them a house...or better yet, construction management should come down with us in December to do it :)

 I love you lots and I can't wait to hug you (and drink coke) in 2 months and a week haha but who's counting

This week we had 296 contacts...SO CLOSE TO 300!!!

We set baptismal dates with M and JL. F still isn't sure but we are going to go and visit them today and explain that his baptism doesn't actually count because it wasn't done with the priesthood. Other than that we are just trying to find lots and lots of people for June. Our branch is helping a lot right now. We have started doing the visits we always do on Sundays with the members and so we are getting more visits to the converts and less actives.

I didn't reach my goal of 30 contacts every day last week...I averaged about 25 so I’m getting better but I will do it better this week and every week after. 

I decided also that I need to be bolder...like when someone isn't keeping the commandments I need to tell them straight up, with love and cariño, that they need to repent. 

We have a few really good investigators but none of them are married. Just one...her husband is a less active member and she is really positive but he got in a really bad motorcycle accident last week for driving drunk...so that was a really good example for her. He is back from the hospital now so we just need to help reactivate his family and get her to attend and she can be baptized. 

Perfect month starts next week so I think we are going to start waking up at 5 30 everyday to get more done during the day... my companion still doesn't know that though...I am still planning on having the 7 baptisms this month so we just need some big miracles but I know that if we are being obedient they will come.

Well I guess now would be a good time to tell you that we are breaking a rule...in the white missionary manual it says that we can’t have animals of any kind in the house...well, we have a ton of geckos, spiders, a mouse, a cucaracha, and millions of mosquitoes. AND there are 2 cats that get into our front patio like every night...we’re trying to get rid of them but we just love them all sooooooooo much. 

When I told her that the Geckos would eat the spiders, she responded, “. No the geckos don't eat the spiders because the spiders are bigger than they are! yay! 

Well...it's about that time...I love you so so so so so so much! Hope you have a wonderful week! See you soon...ish :) LOVE YOU! 

Goals for her last 2 1/2 months!

So this week I have been thinking a lot about my goals as a missionary and how I want to be better and that I should be holding myself to a higher standard. 

•    I will contact 30 every day until the end of my mission
•    In June we will baptize 7 people
•    I will walk faster (even though my body feels like it is falling apart sometimes) 
•    I will teach my companion better and help her to start leading so she will be ready after her training to work REALLY REALLY HARD. 
•    I will challenge more people to be baptized
•    I will be more direct
•    I will commit people to read, pray and go to church....

Zone Photo

Basically I just want to be the perfect missionary so I am going to work a lot harder. I want to leave the Gomera even better than I found it so I promise to do everything I can to do so..even if I have to be put on life-support when I get home haha.

"I ate cake for your birthday daddy...don't worry I enjoyed it :)"

"I love you Hna Blown"

Last Weeks email and Mother's day call

A week late and Mother’s Day call!

Contacts: 314

Making tortillas

This week we've had a lot of help from our branch president and a few of the members. Our converts are progressing as well. I'm still a little worried about D though because he was super positive when we visited him and said that he would go to church and that he missed going and everything but he didn't go this Sunday and then we saw him with his girlfriend. I think she has a really strong influence on him but we are going to keep trying to get him back to church! he is really great just confused.

We have also been teaching a kid named K who is really positive. The only problem is that his parents aren't very happy with him receiving the lessons. He loves church and he received his answer that it's all true but his parents are the big problem. We are going to try to go talk to them...

J & J are doing great! The branch president talked with J last week and he agreed that they need to get married quickly haha. They want to do it in June (which is better than July because that's what they wanted before...). 

We also ran into an old investigator who a member’s girlfriend and she said that she was going to stop working so she would be able to go to church on Sundays!  I talked to her boyfriend and he was like yeah we want to get married as quick as possible and she needs to get baptized! It was pretty great.

We've been teaching W. He is perfect when it comes to the word of wisdom. He doesn't even drink soda or juice...just agua pura. But he said that he did have a problem with the law of chastity but that he was going to obey the commandments! 

Other than that there have been some problems with some of the members in the branch so that has been pretty tough these last couple weeks for some of the families but everything is going to get straightened out and our branch is going to keep growing.

ALSO. E is getting eye surgery on the 28th of this month! She will be able to see again! This family is going to have SOOOOOO many blessings for being true to the gospel. They are unbelievable.

Other than that I have been doing well. I can't believe how fast time is going by. You said that if at the end of our missions we don't feel like we can take another step, we haven't worked hard enough...well I am already feeling the effects. My whole body hurts always and so does my spirit sometimes with all that the mission puts us though but I love it and I am going to work as hard as I can for these months that are left. My goal for June is to have 7 baptisms so we will complete it because I feel like it's what God wants for our area! Have a great day.

Zone P Day

Yesterday we played with water balloons for p day with our zone :) I had a contact this week that was pretty cool too. we were walking by a bunch of kids playing soccer and the ball was by me so I shot a goal and told them all that they had to go to church cause I made the goal...they didn't come but it was legit. We also had a contact whose son  was named after a famous American BB player!

I asked her about what she wished she had or what she didn’t need so I could let newly called missionaries know how best to prepare.

I'm glad that I have rain boots (thanks to Janice), they don't need irons...just lots of American food haha...but just that as soon as they're here there are places called pacas where you can buy used clothes and its normally pretty nice so they don't need to bring a ton of really anything. Just like a few pairs of REALLY GOOD SHOES haha like the ones I have now :) 

We got the information and travel itinerary for her release – Aug 8^th!

I don't know if you have seen the date....but in exactly 3 months and 1 day....I WOULD LIKE YOU TO BE WAITING FOR ME IN SLC WITH AN ICE COLD COKE AND A REALLY REALLY REALLY BIG HUG :)

I just love you so much daddy :) I was reading in the scriptures in Helaman 3:20 and it was talking about how he walked in the ways of his father and that's why he was blessed...I am blessed to have righteous parents like you and momma. :)

Well it's about that time...love you so much talk to you on Sunday!! at 6! GOSH I JUST LOVE YOU GUYS!!! 

Well J & C got confirmed which went really well. They are really happy. 

We had to drop a few investigators this last week because they don't feel the need to change. One of them is the girlfriend of D (our convert from March) and it's really bringing him down because he didn't attend once last month, still doesn't have the priesthood. Ok so he did attend but the evangelic church with his girlfriend. There were 8 recent converts in all last month who didn't attend and we are doing everything to get them to church and I seriously don't know what to do. I just got so frustrated on Sunday. I seriously just want to visit all of the converts everyday and help them.  And then there are those who only went once this month. Out of 4 Sundays they showed up one. The only miracle that we had was that F decided that he was going to go to church this weekend even if his boss said no and even if he was going to lose his job. And he showed up! There are a lot of members that have more time being members than he does that say that they can't go to church for work or for whatever...BUT THEY DON'T HAVE FAITH IN GOD. Seriously Heavenly Father promises all the things that we need if we keep the commandments but the only person who has had enough faith to try it out is F. They are so awesome. They are going to have SOOOOOO many blessings. Seriously they have NOTHING and he was willing to lose his job to go to church.

We have been working with J and she wants to get baptized but she kind of wants to give up too...She doesn't have the support of J. He really doesn't help her with anything even though he is already a member. He just plays soccer all day after work. She said that he is drinking tea and she told him "the missionaries said we can't drink tea and you already know that since you go to that church" ...but he is still drinking tea apparently. 

I don't know....we are just going to work really really hard and the miracles will come.

  

Both zones won for having the most baptisms I think because we had the pday yesterday.  Our zone and Solola zone.

My knee hurts and I think I’m going to have arthritis but other than that I'm doing good. I played soccer yesterday which was fun but our zone leaders promised me some American football next week :)

YEAH!! Brad Sorenson to the CHARGERS!!!!  (Former SUU QB)